On Saturday, we were lucky enough to have tickets to the White House garden tour. Twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, the grounds of the White House are opened to a few thousand people who can check out some of the gardens. The tickets are free; the trick is obtaining them. What I’ve learned is that it is good to have friends — I recently reconnected with a childhood friend of mine, who happens to work on the Hill. He texted me on Thursday and said he had two tickets and asked me if Grant and I wanted them.

getting up close and personal with the White House

Of course I said yes, and I’m glad we went. Other than having friends, another way one can get tickets is, apparently, by calling one’s congressman. Or so said some women in line. I do know that tickets are given out the morning of, but it is much easier to have someone give you a pair instead of having to get downtown at six in the morning (or whenever it is) to procure some.

the rose garden

Tickets are timed at half-hour intervals, from 10 in the morning until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. We did have to wait in quite a line, but part of the problem was that we were at the end of the 2:30 line for a while, until we were told to go alllll the way to the other side of the Ellipse, where the 3:00 line was. Whoops. In our defense, the ten or so people in line around us also had the same problem.

arguably the best view in DC

It was really cool to see all the different trees the various presidents have planted. I also liked seeing photographs of people in the garden over the years. Unfortunately, we did not see Bo (or any other member of the Obama household), even though I know he (and President Obama himself) made an appearance earlier in the day.

there’s even a presidential putting green

There was a line to check out the beehive and Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden. While we do have pictures of the garden, they’re not the best due to the confined space. So I will end with a picture of the beehive: